Help with supplies for a basic First Aid/Trauma kit.

[Gollnick]

I am a working paramedic...

And when you became such, you gave up any claim to being a "good Samaritan." I'm not a lawyer, but I suspect that you can never regain that status.

This is not unique to medicine. I'm an engineer and so I have to be very careful about answering questions such as " Is this beam strong enough to hold up my deck?" If I answer that question, it is a professional opinion and I am legally responsible for it no matter how casually it was made.

 

[Midget]

hmm, i think it varies from states to states.

for example, if he is a paramedic but is NOT on duty (i.e. not being compensated for his time) and responds to an incident, he should be protected under Good Samaritan law.

Think about the intentions of the Good Samaritan Law. Do we want to live in a world where well-intentioned people are protected? I should think so, and I am willing to be so do the legislating bodies.

He may be held to a higher standard, just as an engineer may be held to a higher standard of sophistication when considering if his advice was sound. In cases like this I believe courts use the "common man" test. That is, would a common man in his disposition had made the same or similar action? So, if you are a paramedic and make an action, the standards that you are held to would be: "would the another (reasonable) paramedic had made the same decision in that situation?" If not, then the standard of care has been breached.

This is consistent with the purpose of the Good Samaritan Law -- that is, to mitigate risk of bystanders from being sued for unintentional injury. Good Samaritans are ones that help to the greatest of their ability, and one would expect that a well-intentioned healthcare professional would not deviate from the standard of care whether on or off duty.

 

[JWRobinson]

A lot of the above recommendations are good: Midget in particular has a fairly well stocked aid bag but he obviously is trained how to use it. However, lots of equipment/meds will do no good and potentially harm a casualty if you don't know how and when to use them. Wilderness Medicine is an excellent text and I believe a new addition has come out recently. It's worth the time to read over a few times. You may be able to take some classes through the Red Cross or a local university and I encourage you to do so. Learn your ABC's (airway, breathing, circulation) learn how to treat for shock and control bleeding. Once you have a good handle on these basic tasks you will have a good idea of what your capabilities are and what you should have in your aid bag.

 

[Brian.Evans]

Midget has a well stocked bag, but I would NEVER use the equipment in a personal bag on a scene I drove up on. Everyone repeat after me; my license is too valuable to be wasted by being a cowboy. If I'm not on a truck, I don't carry an aid bag, and even if I did, I'm not using it on a stranger. I like being able to work as a paramedic and make my house payments and feed my family. I'm not losing my license because I decided to be a rebel and go try to "save" people at an accident scene. Help, yes. First aid, yes. Advanced procedures, to include Celox, IV, needle decompression, HELL NO. Anything beyond Boy Scout basic first aid, I'm no doing in the field without being on duty on a truck.

Things you need.
1. Training. CPR, first aid, maybe first responder or EMT-basic if you really want to. Training is everything. All the toys in the world do zero good if you don't know how to use them.
2. Fire extinguisher. Great idea. Really really good idea. Even for self rescue.
3. Rubber gloves. Walmart, Auto-Zone, Galls, do a search on google. Lots of places carry them.
4. Did I say training already.

Go get trained, then buy the stuff you learned about in training. Those are the things you'll know how to use. No use buying a bunch of crap that you don't know how to use.

Also, no offense USMCsniper dude, because I didn't read real closely your post about improvising a tourneq, but WTF are you talking about? Why would you ever advise someone who is SETTING UP A KIT PRIOR TO AN EVENT to improvise anything. How much room does a CAT or SOF take up? It's nice to improvise if you need to, but proper planning will help a lot.

 

[Brian.Evans]

PS if you're serious about this and willing to invest, i've been toying with the idea about carrying a small O2 tank in my car. I'm curious to hear thoughts on the potential hazards and tradeoffs vs. the benefits of investing in something like this. things i'm concerned about the most are 1) cost 2) hazard of carrying a pressurized tank 3) the fact that i drive a small 2-seater sports car.

Don't. Oxygen is considered a drug in the prehospital setting. If you give a drug as an EMT, you will 100% lose any possible standing you might have otherwise had as a good samaratin. (spelling I know). If you want to be named in the lawsuit, give a medicine with no protocols to back it up.

Not trying to be harsh brother, just honest. Is it gonna hurt, no, probably not. However, why take a risk as a bystander.

This doesn't even begin to touch on the implications of proper mounting of an oxygen bottle in a vehicle to prevent movement in transit or in a wreck.

As an aside, I sure hope you have that fire extinguisher mounted more securely than just "under your seat.". If not, go back an review your texts on secondary and tertiary impacts in a motor vehicle collision.

Stay safe brother.

 

[Midget]

Don't. Oxygen is considered a drug in the prehospital setting. If you give a drug as an EMT, you will 100% lose any possible standing you might have otherwise had as a good samaratin. (spelling I know). If you want to be named in the lawsuit, give a medicine with no protocols to back it up.

Not trying to be harsh brother, just honest. Is it gonna hurt, no, probably not. However, why take a risk as a bystander.

This doesn't even begin to touch on the implications of proper mounting of an oxygen bottle in a vehicle to prevent movement in transit or in a wreck.

As an aside, I sure hope you have that fire extinguisher mounted more securely than just "under your seat.". If not, go back an review your texts on secondary and tertiary impacts in a motor vehicle collision.

Stay safe brother.

Good call(s).

Thanks for the advice. My extinguisher isn't properly mounted -- it's just wedged between my seat and the floor-rails. I'll look into getting that fixed.




Take care!

 

[Senserazer]

Stay basic imo. Duct tape, plastic, bandaid, bandages, some disinfective wetnaps, scissor (or knife) for clothes ad maybe some paracord for bracing a broken limb with whatever at hand etc. That'll get you far. A plastic bag and 3 pieces of duct tape will stabilize someone who's stabbed in the lung long enough for help to arrive even.

Edit: And a space blanket. Foil blanket. Takes up no space, and rocks harder than a normal blanket.